


(Don't Fear) The Reaper

by Trying_to_sleep



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25861171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trying_to_sleep/pseuds/Trying_to_sleep
Summary: When Edward Lancer woke up on a Tuesday, he knew things were going to go wrong. He just had no idea how wrong. He certainly didn't expect to become half ghost, or whatever it was Phantom was going on about. He just wanted to read his book - is that too much to ask?
Comments: 18
Kudos: 80





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward Lancer really doesn't like Tuesdays.

Tuesdays were the worst. Everything that was even vaguely annoying happened on Tuesday, and this particular Tuesday was no exception.

It was a nice day for once – he found that most Tuesdays came with rain and dark clouds – and the sun was beaming down on the cracked street outside. Edward Lancer walked along said street, staring at the ants in the cracks. They were very interesting ants. They scurried about, completely unconcerned with the world around them and only focused on their task. Edward wished his students could be like that.

He found that eventually the pavement got newer and the cracks disappeared as he got nearer to Casper High. The local council had decided to put some money towards the area around the school a couple of months ago to make it safer for all the kids around. The result was a distinct lack of ants. Edward frowned.

He made his way into the school with a good half an hour to spare before the students arrived. Great; just enough time to go over his lesson plans and log into _Doomed_ for a while. He was hoping to finally beat level thirteen.

His lesson plans were all in order as far as he could tell. A lesson on poetry for the freshmen first period, Macbeth for the sophomores second and his senior class were studying Lord of the Flies at the end of the day. Edward was hoping they’d be able to come up with something other than ‘humans are evil’.

After a nice twenty minutes or so of playing his game and finally _finally_ beating the level and getting the key, Edward was startled by the school bell. He jumped and quickly logged off his computer. It wouldn’t do for any of the students to come in and see him.

His homeroom class was also his sophomore English class, and, as always, Danny Fenton was late. Dash came in thirty seconds before the bell, shoving Mikey out of the way as he did. Edward offered him a glare and he shrugged. Manson and Foley were _just_ on time, both of them panting as they slammed the door behind them. He wondered what kind of thing had happened to make Tucker Foley do exercise.

He started the attendance register with a sigh, not even bothering to call out Danny’s name until the end when he came rushing into the classroom and skidded down onto a chair near his friends.

“Late again Mr Fenton?” he asked, grimacing. He really didn’t want to give him another detention, but it was school policy and he couldn’t defy Ishiyama.

“Detention?” Danny asked in reply.

“I’m afraid so. See me after school.” Edward said.

“Yes, Mr Lancer.”

The class settled down into their usual start of day state, where half of them were gossiping and the other half were trying to get in a bit more sleep before lessons started for real. Edward wandered around the room, occasionally trying to talk to someone, or glaring at Paulina who was doing the homework for his class right in front of him.

“that should have been done at home, Paulina.” He reminded her. She scoffed and turned away to her friends.

The bell to signify the end of homeroom ran sooner than he would have liked, and the sophomores groaned as they moved on to their first class of the day. They were replaced by the freshmen who were all idiots.

Well, he guessed not all of them were complete idiots, but it was still near the beginning of the year and most were still trying to figure out how high school worked. Apparently, Casper middle school didn’t have a good English teacher since it seemed none of them knew how to analyse even the simplest poem, and Edward had to teach them from the beginning. It was most annoying. Coincidentally, he always had them on a Tuesday.

Today he stared at a class of blank faces as he practically begged them to tell him what Wordsworth meant in his poem ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’. It was one of Edwards all-time favourites and he had even taken a trip to Coniston in England to see the lake that inspired it. It saddened him to see that none of today’s youth seemed to be able to appreciate Wordsworth’s mastery and genius.

Eventually, the bell rang and the kids gladly left his classroom, only to be replaced with the sophomores from earlier.

Surprisingly, Danny was right there with Sam and Tucker, even if he did have a suspiciously large cut on his arm.

“Are you alright, Daniel?” Edward asked. “Do you need to go to the nurse’s office?”

Danny evidently hadn’t been expecting anyone to notice his cut. He immediately shielded it from Edward’s view and snapped, “No, I’m fine.”

“If you’re sure?”

“yes.”

Edward shrugged. “Alright then. If you’re not hurt, then can you tell me where we left off in reading Macbeth last lesson?”

Daniel’s brows furrowed and he tapped his foot under his desk. his eyes slid to Sam Manson next to him, who whispered something in his ear. His eyebrows rose again. “Lady Macbeth!” he said triumphantly.

Edward couldn’t help but smile. “Any elaboration on that? You are right, it was a scene with Lady Macbeth.”

The boy’s foot continued to tap. “She was doing that speech thing…”

“A soliloquy, yes.”

“Yeah that. She wanted to uh… unsex herself? And there was something about killing a baby?

Edward facepalmed. “Yes Daniel. There was something about killing a baby. Can anyone tell me anything else about what lady Macbeth is saying here?”

No one could.

Oh how he missed Jazz Fenton.

The rest of the period passed in a similar way, until Danny started and waved his hand in the air.

“Yes, Daniel?”

“Um, can I go to the restroom, Mr Lancer?” he asked, biting his lip.

Edward pinched his forehead. “Just go. Try and come back before the end of the period.”

“Thanks, sir!” Danny yelled as he thundered out and to wherever he went during class.

“Uh, sir?” another voice piped up.

“Yes, Valerie. You can go too.”

“Thanks!”

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, apart from the food fight at lunch and the four ghost fights. Just a typical Tuesday.

When the bell rang, Edward got out of the school as quickly as he could, intending to do some marking at the public library before settling down with a good book in one of the comfy armchairs they had there. Hopefully there would be some fellow book lovers there to discuss it with.

It was as he was walking along the pavement, humming a tune in his head, that the Tuesday bad luck kicked in.

There was, as was typical, a ghost fight going on in the air above. Phantom was fending off against some sort of gruesome glowing… thing… which was, in retaliation, trying to kill him. Edward was captivated for a few minutes, gazing at the two ghosts. He supposed he probably should have been worried about the number of ectoblasts being thrown around and the huge amount of property damage, but he was a little busy being mesmerised by the fight. He was so busy in fact, that he didn’t notice his proximity to an electricity pylon. The pylon itself had come during the fight, and the wires were puddled on the floor, covered in viscous green ectoplasm.

Edward really had to learn to look where he was stepping.

Another blast came from above, and he jumped.

Pain erupted all around him, surging through his body and he fell to the ground in anguish. He must have yelled out, because Phantom was there all of a sudden and the ghost’s hands were pressed on his shoulder. He heard a voice asking if he was alright, asking if he could hear them. He couldn’t speak – couldn’t even nod. There was just pain.

* * *

When he woke up, Edward was assaulted by a barrage of white. White walls, white ceiling, white clad people moving about him with white trolleys. He glanced down at himself and was disproportionally overjoyed to see he was wearing blue, although on closer inspection, he found it was not his usual blue shirt, but a hospital gown. His eyes flew back to the people – nurses, he assumed – and they fell on the IV inserted into his arm. He groaned, and one of the nurses was at his side in seconds.

“Edward, do you remember what happened?” he asked him, adjusting his bedsheet. “Phantom brought you in earlier.”

“Phantom?” Edward asked. “Yes. Phantom was there.”

“You were caught in electricity wires, according to him. He said you passed out as he got to you.” The nurse clarified.

Edward strained his brain. “Yes, I was near the pylon. And there was green. Lots of green.”

“It’s likely you’ve still got a concussion from hitting your head as you passed out. You won’t be able to remember everything yet. We’ll be keeping you here until you’re stable and we’re sure you’re good to go.” He paused. “Do you have anyone you want us to contact? We looked for close family members but we couldn’t find anyone obvious.”

“What?” Edward faltered, voice coming out rough and tired. “No. There’s no one.”

“Alright then. We’ll be testing you for a concussion in a while, then, if you’re clear, then you’ll just have to stay here overnight before you can go. Is that ok, Edward?

“Yeah.” His voice came out distant. “Yes. That’s fine.”

The nurse smiled and walked off, writing something down on his clipboard. Edward was left alone in his bed, wondering what in _Paradise Lost’s_ name had happened.

His hand reached up to his chin, rubbing at the stubble there. He should probably shave at some point, having been too busy playing video games last night to bother. Edward sighed. His hand slipped down and…

It was in the bed. His hand, his very solid and human hand which should have been physically unable to do so, had slipped _into_ the mattress. He stared at it wonder for a few seconds before realising he couldn’t get it out. Edward Lancer was usually a calm person, but right now, he was panicking.

This was impossible! How? He tugged, but it was to no avail. The hand stayed firmly stuck in the mattress.

“Concentrate.”

Edward’s head whipped round. Had someone said something?

“Concentrate on making it intangible again. You’ll be able to get it out that way.”

“Where are you?” Edward demanded, and his voice was quite a lot higher than he would have liked. “Who are you?”

“It’s me, Phantom.” Said the voice again, followed by a head materialising in the air. The head soon gave way to a whole body, jumpsuit and all. “I’ve been here since you were brought in, since it was kind of my fault that you’re here. I didn’t save you in time.” Phantom looked distraught at the prospect, and Edward was willing to bet he’d been beating himself up about it since it happened. He’d seen enough students angry at themselves to recognise it.

“it’s alright, really.” He tried to reassure, also trying his best not to look surprised at the ghost which had just appeared before his very eyes. “Just… what happened? And what’s happening?”

“That,” Phantom said, pointing to Edward’s arm, “Is intangibility. Well it was. You let it go and you got stuck.”

“I didn’t mean that.” He grumbled. “Well, I did. But what happened back on the street?”

“Yeah.” Phantom’s face twisted into a grimace. “Like that nurse said, you got caught up in the wires. The wires had ectoplasm on them. Electricity plus ectoplasm equals not good.”

A sliver of fear ran through Edward’s mind. “So, what does that mean? Why is _this_ happening?” he didn’t even need to gesture to his stuck arm for Phantom to know what he was talking about.

The ghost was quiet for a few moments, seemingly contemplating his words. “There’s this theory.” He said, careful and low. “In the ghost zone. When humans are exposed to huge amounts of energy combined with a massive load of ectoplasm, well, they don’t exactly die. It’s like half dying. You’re not dead. Just… you might feel a lot more ghostly form now on.“

Edwards throat was dry. “What?” he choked.

“They… they call them halfas.” Phantom said. “Half human and half ghost. Like a human but with ghost powers. And a ghost form, probably. Like I said, it’s just a theory.”

“And you think this is what’s happening to me?”

“I’m afraid so.” Phantom’s eyes rolled down to Edwards hand. “Most people can’t do that. You should probably try to get it out at some point, you know.”

Edward ignored him, in lieu of completely freaking out. “am I _dead_?” he whispered, strangled.

“No! No. You’re not dead. At least I don’t think so. It’s not like we have many other halfas to go off, but the general theory is that you don’t die. Now come on.” His voice turned gentle, coaxing. “Close your eyes, and pull, but like, don’t physically pull. Just do it mentally. Imagine your arm can go through the material. Imagine its intangible and it will be.”

“ _To kill a mockingbird,_ you sound like a teenager.” Edward said distantly. His mind was occupied with trying to comprehend and then put into action what Phantom had just told him.

“Well,” the other said, “since I am a teenager, I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

Edward turned his head, eyes searching out the glowing green ones. “You died recently?”

Phantom’s face twisted. “I don’t want to talk about it. Rule one of talking to ghosts, don’t ask about their death.”

“Oh. alright then.” Edward, feeling somewhat put out by that dismissal, went back to trying to get his arm out of the material.

He finally got it, some ten minutes later, along with a whoop from Phantom, although Edward wasn’t sure if that was because the ghost was happy for him, or because he wanted to leave.

He flickered out of existence at the same time the nurse from earlier came in beaming.

“Good news!” he smiled. “You don’t have a concussion, your injuries have healed remarkably well, and you’re pretty much free to go whenever you like. We’re advising that you stay here overnight, but it’s not compulsory.”

Edward stared back at him uncomprehending, because he had just managed to get his leg stuck in his bed post.

_Focus. Intangible. Think intangible._

“Yes. Uh, yes. Thank you.” He said in response to the nurse. “I would like to go home, if you don’t mind. I’m feeling much better.”

“Well, we can’t keep you here.” The man sighed. “Alright then. Let’s get you out of this bed. You’ll need to sign out at reception.” The nurse smiled and walked briskly over to another table, presumably to fill out some forms. 

"Thank you." Edward said.

"No problem."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my second attempt at writing a multichapter fic, so this should be interesting. I have it planned out (a first for me) so hopefully that means I won't run out of ideas halfway through.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny brings out the scary eyes.

He got out of the hospital another hour later and found, with annoyance, that he didn’t have his car with him – he’d have to walk, which he really didn’t want to do right now. Ugh.

On the way home, his leg got stuck in the pavement a total of seven times, each one getting him more and more riled up. When he sunk torso deep into the concrete, Edward was at his wits end. He had no idea how no one saw him, but he was stuck there for over five minutes, both unable and unwilling to get himself out. Danny Phantom turned out to be a lifesaver.

He appeared suddenly over Edward’s head, smirking slightly, but sympathetic. He yanked him out of the pavement, explaining that he had somehow managed to go invisible as well, then offered Edward a lift home, which resulted in him discovering the absolutely petrifying experience that was flying. He had nearly gone through his entire repertoire of book curses before they got to his house and Phantom set him down on the ground, shaking and pale. He staggered into his house, fumbling with the lock, then sat down on his chair – the comfy one with the excess of pillows – and a book.

Edward honestly couldn’t remember the last time he had been unable to finish the first chapter of a book, but today he couldn’t. he picked it up, skimmed the first few pages and then put it down, open page, on the table. His head was bursting with thoughts and feelings, each one more worrying than the next. Was he dead? Phantom had said no, but he had also said that the whole thing was a theory. Edward wondered if it had ever happened before. His arm fell through the armchair and he growled. He really had to learn to get a grip on his… whatever they were. Powers? That seemed silly. He was a grown forty year old man for goodness sakes. Magic powers weren’t real.

Then Edward remembered he lived in Amity Park. A few years ago, he’d thought that ghosts weren’t real.

He sunk further back into the armchair.

The next day dawned with rain, and Edward groaned as he woke up. Everything ached. He stretched, reaching up and then out for the book on his bedside table. He stared in horror for a second at the state he had left it in last night – Edward was a firm believer that the worst thing you could do to a book was leave it open page down, right along with folding the corner to keep your page – and then startled when his hand went through it. Right. Ghost powers. Ok.

He lay in bed for another ten minutes, too emotionally drained to even think of getting up. In those ten minutes he made a decision.

Fumbling around his table for his phone, Edward picked it up and dialled the school’s office number.

“Hello? Yes. It’s Edward. Yes. I’m calling in sick. What? No, I’m not alright! Otherwise I wouldn’t be calling! Yes, I’m really taking a sick day. Ok. Thank you, bye.” He collapsed down into his bed, already regretting it. He had never missed a day of work in all the time he had been teaching and was well known for it too. He just could not deal with people today, students or teachers. What if he went intangible during a class, or what if some other power exhibited itself? There would be chaos. Edward did not like chaos.

He spent most of the day in bed but got up around lunch time to have a sandwich. It was there that he nearly destroyed his kitchen with a green blast coming from his finger. He glared at the smoking remains of his stove with confusion and dreaded having to replace it; a teacher’s salary was not exactly high.

At exactly three forty two, Danny Phantom appeared in the kitchen. He took one look at the rubble and burst out laughing. Edward was not amused.

“So I’m guessing you discovered ectoblasts then?” Phantom wheezed. “Brilliant.”

“it’s not brilliant.” Edward growled. “I’m going to have to pay for this.”

The ghost winced. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Trust me, I get enough bills for all the property damage I do around here, even though it’s not my fault!”

“You pay bills?” Edward was intrigued. Phantom had said he was a teenager, and besides, how could a ghost get a job?

“Nah. The mayor does.”

“Vlad Masters?”

“Well yeah, he’s a billionaire. It’s not like he can’t afford to give some up. Heck, he could afford to pay every teen’s collage debt and get every person in this town a luxury apartment, but he doesn’t. he mostly spends it on rebuilding his creepy castle whenever it gets blown up or on equally creepy plots to destroy me.”

Edward could help but be incredulous. “Mayor Masters wants to destroy you?”

“Uh, duh? Oh wait. Yeah. Probably should have told you this. You know I said you were a halfa?” he waited for Edward’s confused nod before continuing, “He’s one too. Except, he didn’t have anyone as awesome as me to help him and he became a creepy fruitloop.”

Edward tried to wrap his head around that one for a second, and failed miserably. This was much more than just him getting superpowers, wasn’t it. He decided to concentrate on something else Phantom had said. “you’re going to help me?”

“Well obviously! I can’t exactly leave you with ghost powers, can I? that’s why I came here. I was wondering if you wanted me to train you. I mean, you’re gonna have to learn to use your powers even if it’s just to control them. I can help you learn to transform into your ghost form and control those ectoblasts and so on. I mean, it’s not like I know anything about having a human form,” he added quickly. Too quickly. “but I can be more help than you would get on your own. Am I talking too much? Oh god, I’m talking too much. I’ll just shut up.”

“No!” Edward’s hands came up to his chest in a surrendering motion. “No, it’s fine. I think that would be a… good idea. Yes. Training. When would that be?”

“I was thinking, well, right now? We can work out a schedule after today, but you’re looking better now and you’re off work so?”

Edward wondered how on earth he knew he hadn’t been in work today. Did Phantom stalk him? Instead, he just said, “That would be fine. Let’s get started.”

* * *

Phantom took him to one of the old warehouses across town – the ones that were rumoured to be haunted. Edward supposed that they were.

Lucid eyes surveyed him, white hair rippling despite the lack of wind. Was that a ghost thing, or was that just Phantom trying to act the part of a stereotypical hero? The Fenton’s had the theory that a ghost’s outer appearance reflected how they saw themselves, so maybe it was because Phantom saw himself as a hero.

“Lesson number one.” He said, voice soft but commanding. It was far from the panic and self-consciousness from earlier, and Edward figured he should probably listen. “You can pretty much do intangibility in human form, but we’re going to try and get you to transform.”

Edward gulped. “How do I do that?” he asked, throat dry.

Phantom laughed and floated nearer to him. “A ghost is made up of ectoplasm, for the most part. They are essentially, to use the Fenton’s wording, a blob of it. However, we have these things called cores. The best comparison would be to a human heart, I guess. It’s the powerhouse of a ghost. It’s what keeps them going and contains all that they are. If your core is damaged, you are too, and destroying a core is the only way to truly destroy a ghost. Our core is also where all our ‘powers’ come from, and each ghost’s core is different. For instance,” his eyes glowed a beautiful frosty blue and a shard of ice appeared in his hand, “I have an ice core. That means I have a special affinity for ice, and I can use loads of ice based attacks. My core also supports all the other powers I have, like the ectoblasts and so on. You now have one of these cores too, which means you’ll be able to use the same powers and, judging by Vlad masters, you’ll be able to change to a ghost form.” He paused for a second to let that information sink in.

“So do I have an ice core as well, or is it some other kind of element?” Edward asked. He was fascinated by the whole business and wanted to learn as much as possible. And possibly stall for time.

“We don’t know yet.” Phantom answered. “My core didn’t develop the elemental powers until about three years after I died, and it’s still not fully mature. You’ll probably have a while until anything like that shows itself.”

“Oh. well then.”

“Yeah. Anyway, what I want you to do is try and feel your core. Reach down deep inside your body and feel it. You should be able to feel it pulsing or beating like a heart. I guess since you actually have a heart as well, you’ll have two different pulses. Not that I would know of course, being fully dead and all.”

Edward thought he was all too quick to tell that fact. Interesting.

He tried to do as Phantom said and was a little terrified when he did in fact feel two separate pulses on his wrist. It felt irregular and _wrong._ His mind tried to imagine his heart beating inside his chest, then off to the side, another foreign entity. His core. He felt himself gasp out loud but didn’t register Phantom’s grin. He could feel it. There was something else inside of him, something new and _powerful._ Power thrashed around him, and he could feel it rippling through his veins. Edward took a deep breath and _pulled_.

The first thing that he noticed was that he was floating. About four feet off the ground. Edward gave a yelp and landed firmly on his behind. Rubbing his poor aching back and thinking that he was way too old for this, he noticed his hands. His hands were blue.

Edward definitely did not scream.

They weren’t completely blue per se, but there was a definite tinge to them, as if his skin was so thin that he could see the veins through it. He was already pale, but now he was white as… a ghost.

“You look good.” Phantom said from his corner. Edward had almost forgotten he was there. “Very ghostly.” Somehow, he had gotten hold of a mirror, and he held it up for Edward to inspect. He examined his reflection obediently.

White hair. He wasn’t supposed to go grey for another ten years at least! He wasn’t even supposed to have hair! “ _Portrait of Dorian Grey!”_ he exclaimed. “Where did that come from?”

“The hair?” phantom asked, “Your guess is as good as mine. Gotta say though, it suits you. You look good with hair. Different, but good.”

“Thank you, I think.” Edward replied, thoroughly confused. It wasn’t just his hands that were tinged blue now, it was his whole face. His beard had inverted from its usual silky black too, and Edward wasn’t sure if he liked it.

“You might want to do something about the clothes.” Phantom pointed out, gesturing at Edward’s bright orange shirt and tie. “Those were the clothes you were in when it happened, and it pretty much inverted everything for you. You do _not_ suit orange.”

“Again, thank you.”

“No problem.” Phantom grinned. “Next time, just bring the clothes you want to wear in your ghost form and you can work on making them stay when you transform. And, for the love of Clockwork, please don’t bring anything blue.”

“Nothing blue, right. That might be a problem.”

“Oh for f… let me guess, you just have that one shirt?”

Edward shrugged. “Pretty much. It’s not like I have anywhere to go but work.”

The ghost groaned. “Alright then. You’re going shopping. I’ll send someone to make sure you make sensible choices. Anyway, now we’re going to work on your ectoblasts. They’re good in a fight and can be useful when you want to get out of a trap. Intangibility is good too, so we’ll work on that too. That’ll be enough for today.”

“Phantom?”

“You need to try and pull at your core again, and feel the energy building up on your fingertips. I get a little tingle but…”

“Phantom.”

“You might get something else. I don’t know.”

“Phantom.”

“What?”

“Will I be in fights?”

“What do you mean, of course you will. You want to help protect the city, don’t you?”

“Well, yes.” Edward admitted, “But does that have to be done through violence. I’ve seen the way the Fentons run in with guns blazing, and they don’t even think about what the ghost is doing. They’ve shot at you multiple times and you weren’t doing anything wrong. What if not all ghosts are malevolent?”

Phantom’s face was quietly thoughtful. “Not all of them are.” He said. “But most are. Most of them don’t care about humans or the damage they’re doing.” Edward’s eyes narrowed and his forehead scrunched in thought.

“Isn’t that what the Fentons say about you?”

His reaction was immediate and downright scary. “Are you comparing me to the Fentons?” phantom asked. His voice was just as low as it had been before, but much more threatening now. His eyes glowed bright and eerie. Inhuman. For the first time since he had become a halfa, Edward saw Phantom as a real threat and was reminded of just how strong he really was. “they hunt my kind. They hunt me. I just take the ghosts peacefully back to the ghost zone. Yes I fight them. Can you blame me? It’s a ghost thing! It’s what we do!”

“But why do I have to?” Edward asked. “You said it yourself: a halfa isn’t dead, isn’t a real ghost. Why should I follow the same rules as full ghosts do?”

“I think that’s enough for today.” Was all Phantom said. “I’ll see you next Saturday at the same place, eight o clock.”

“Phantom, wait!” Edward called after him. “I didn’t mean to offend you…” but Phantom was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward discovers how terrifying Sam Manson can be.

When Phantom said he would send someone to take Edward shopping, he didn’t expect Sam Manson. She was waiting for him outside the shopping mall, tapping her combat boot on the ground impatiently.

“Good you’re finally here.” She said. “You were supposed to be ten minutes ago. Come on.”

Edward could do nothing but follow her as she stomped her way through the mall, elbowing small children as she went. He was glad he wasn’t on the receiving end of those elbows.

“Phantom said you needed to get some more shirts, but do you need anything else? I can pay – I know you have a rubbish salary.” She glanced at him as they thundered past the various shops in the mall, questioning but still managing to look intimidating. Edward didn’t like being intimidated by a sixteen year old who didn’t even come up to his shoulders. “Well?” she demanded, and he realised he must have zoned out.

“Trousers.” He said. “I need trousers.”

“Great. Okay, come on. We’re nearly there.”

They came to a sudden stop outside a store that, when he went inside, sold T-shirts and only T-shirts. For Edward, who was used to getting his shirts in a target, it was a new experience. He scoured the racks at Sam’s direction and reluctantly picked out a couple of shirts. Black, because Sam may well have killed him otherwise, an orange for his ghost form (he had a _ghost form!_ He still wasn’t used to that) so it would be blue when he changed, a green for everyday wear and a couple of pairs of jeans from a stack of them at the back of the store. He had tried to protest, because he wasn’t twenty anymore and he didn’t need jeans, but miss Manson was not a person you wanted to cross.

He didn’t even look at the price tags until they got to the checkout, but he blanched when he saw them. “Sam, these are really expensive _._ ” He exclaimed. “I cant let you pay for these!”

She looked down at her feet and scowled. “You will. My family’s loaded and I have more than enough on my card. Just shut up and let me do it so we can get this over with. Still don’t know why Danny asked me to do this.” She shot the woman at the till a sharp toothy grin... and was it him, or did she have fake vampire teeth in?

Sam insisted that they go to some sort of goth store after getting Edward’s clothes, and he spent an uncomfortable twenty minutes waiting while she discussed everything from chokers to music to politics with the kid at the desk. Apparently she was a regular.

“How do you know Phantom?” Edward asked the question that had been bugging him all day when they were safely sat in a café far away from any teenage angst.

“I help him out sometimes.” She shrugged. “Danny gets him Fenton tech, and it only seemed natural for me and Tuck to help. I’d still like to know how the hell you ended up as a half ghost. And you should also know how weird this is.”

“Thank you, miss Manson.” Edward grumbled.

“It’s Sam. If you’re gonna be with phantom, you call me Sam. Never Samantha, got it?”

He gulped. “Got it.”

“How did you become a halfa?” She asked. Ignoring the fact that she really shouldn’t know that, he explained with much nodding and humming on Sam’s part. When he had finished, she shrugged, picked up her coffee and took a long sip. “You’ve got a big storm coming.” 

“Sam, is that a meme?”

“Might be.” She shrugged. “Might not be. You’ll never know.”

* * *

As Phantom had promised, he and Edward met again on Saturday, and he seemed to be completely ignoring the argument they had had. This time, Phantom taught him how to go invisible and to control the ectoblasts that, by now, had destroyed a large portion of his house. It was all about concentration and intent, Edward discovered. If you were angry, then your blasts would be much stronger and if you were calm and collected, then they would be more controlled themselves. He thought back to the Fenton’s hypothesis that ghosts were ruled by their emotions and thought it seemed more and more likely to be true.

He wasn’t sure if the same went for halfas, but he certainly found himself being more irritable with the likes of Danny Fenton and Tucker Foley (who would not come off his stupid PDA) at school. He caught Sam whispering something to the two of them with a grin on her face and Daniel turning to stare at him and giggle. If he wasn’t so afraid of both Sam (especially now that he knew she hunted ghosts) and her parents, he would have given her detention. When he went back two days after his accident, he was subject to extreme questioning form principal Ishiyama who was suspicious, if not incredulous at his absence the day before. He managed to shrug her off and wandered to his classroom. It was there he realised he had absolutely no lesson plans for the day and he ran about the room in a panic trying to think of something to teach. This panic resulted in him falling through the floor of the classroom and it took him three tries to float up and out.

Edward decided that he hated intangibility. And flying. No matter how amazing Phantom thought it was, he preferred to have his feet firmly on the ground, thank you very much.

Thanks to Phantom, he could fly, which was just a strange concept in itself. He didn’t understand how it worked – surely his body was much too heavy to stay in the air without some sort of leverage – and Phantom’s explanation involving space rockets and ectoplasm soon evolved into a starry eyed rant about the solar system. Phantom apparently had a borderline obsessive love for space, and Edward wasn’t going to complain. It was nice to see the normally serious ghost act so childish and human.

They continued to meet up for a few weeks, having bi-weekly training sessions. These usually involved Phantom demonstrating something, Edward completely failing to do it and then the ghost laughing his head off, which Edward did not appreciate.

“You could at least try to be serious.” He grumbled during a particularly amusing session. “I haven’t exactly had the years of practice that you have. And you’re young. I’m an old man, Phantom. Cut me some slack.”

This only caused Phantom to burst out in a bout of fresh laughter, clutching his side and wheezing. “Old man! Ha! You’re only like thirty years older than me!”

“I’d shut up if I were you.”

“What you gonna do to a young whippersnapper like me?” phantom giggled. He gasped, “Oh no. Are you going to tell me stories about ‘when you were a lad’? Spare me!”

“I might if you don’t shut up.” Edward warned. “Explain the shield to me again. And don’t laugh.”

“Cant make any promises.” he wiped the tears out of his eyes and made his own shield.

* * *

Edward’s grip on his powers did improve as time went on, and he began to have less accidents involving him and the floor. He had a newfound appreciation for all that Phantom did for the town, (even if he didn’t quite agree with his methods of doing so) after actually taking notice of all the ghost fights that went on in the day while he was teaching.

Phantom also clued him in on one of his student’s activities which he was more than worried about. He sat Valerie Gray down one day after class and told her that what she was doing was very dangerous and she should really stop. After all, its not like ghosts had ever done anything to her personally, right?

“Please, Mr Lancer.” She had scoffed after the initial denial. “Danny Phantom ruined my life. I have no idea how you even found out about this, but im not going to stop. I got that suit almost a year ago and ive never been seriously injured.”

“But you might be!” he pleaded. “Valerie, you’re a smart girl. This is taking its toll on you and your grades. You can’t keep running out of class to fight ghosts!”

“I can and I will.” She growled. “You don’t know ghosts like I do. They’re all bad. They’ll destroy the town if someone doesn’t stop them.”

“Phantom takes care of them.” He argued. “And if he cant, then the guys in white will.”

“Oh please, those guys are useless and we all know it. I’ve got all the tech I need, and I’m perfectly capable of taking down those ghosts by myself. I don’t need your concern and I don’t need you sounding like my dad! Ive already got enough to deal with.”

“I won’t be letting you out of class from now on, Valerie. You’re sixteen – you should not be fighting ghosts.”

“Then I’ll go anyway. I _have_ to fight ghosts.” She turned on her heel and left, huffing as she did. Teenagers, honestly. If she thought she could take on all the ghosts in Amity Park with just a couple of blasters, and _why_ she thought she could, Edward didn’t understand. If he was her, he would want to stay as far away as possible from the fight. Didn’t she have any sense of self preservation? Watching her hurtle about on her precarious hoverboard outside, once again chasing after Phantom, Edward thought that perhaps she didn’t.

It was one thing cheering on the red huntress as she saved the day in a ghost fight; she was completely anonymous. It was another thing entirely knowing that it was one of his students in that suit, and that she put herself at risk every day. Edward hated knowing there was nothing he could do short of confiscating the suit completely, and, given that it seemed to be permanently part of her body at this point (how horrifying) he wasn’t sure that he physically could do that.

His life had gotten way too complicated over the last few weeks.

* * *

That night, Edward and Phantom sat on the rusted roof of the warehouse just talking. Phantom’s legs swung over the edge, but Edward, still uncertain about heights, stayed well away and sat further back. It had become a regular thing for them: train for a couple of hours, then sit on the roof. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they passed the time in companionable silence. Edward, who was not exactly the best at making friends, still had no idea how his closest and only one was a ghost.

“So.” Phantom said, shifting his weight so he faced Edward. “Got any plans for the summer? Seeing anyone?”

Edward was caught off guard. “What? No. I’ll probably just spend it reading. And training, assuming you’re still up for it?”

Phantom didn’t answer his question. Instead, his eyebrows rose and he said, “All alone? Just reading. No offense, but that sounds really boring, dude. Haven’t you got any family to visit or anything?”

“I like reading!” Edward protested. “And my parents passed a while ago.”

“Oh, sorry. But don’t you have a sister?”

“No!” he said. “I sometimes tell the students I do to get them motivated, but its just a picture of me in a dress. How do you even know about that?”

Phantom’s face had contorted, eyes wide and mouth open. “That was _you?_ In a _dress?_ Oh my god! Beautiful!” he was screeching with laughter, and Edward frowned.

“Shut up, young man. How do you know about that picture? Have you been spying on me?”

“No?” it was more of a question than anything else. “So you’re really all alone?”

“Yes. I’m happy with just me and my books.” Phantom looked sympathetic. Edward thought that was really unnecessary. “It can get a little lonely, yes, but I am fine, Phantom.” He tried to reassure.

“This summer, you’re not going to stay alone.” The ghost decided instead. “You’re gonna train with me, and i’m going to take you flying, like on a trip. Not just around Amity. We’re going all over. Wherever you want – as long as its not Wisconsin. Im not going anywhere near Wisconsin.”

“Phantom, you really don’t have to do that.”

“Yes I do.” He said. “No one deserves to be lonely.”

* * *

The following week, training was particularly vigorous and Edward was exhausted afterwards. He had finally managed to get a ghost shield up, albeit a flickering and weak one, and he had pretty much mastered ‘flying’. He still refused to go more than ten metres off the ground.

They sat on the roof afterwards watching the sunset over the town. Bright Scarlets and deep oranges and light teals ribboned across the sky in a beautiful dance. Edward would never get tired of watching it.

Phantom’s fingers drummed on the iron roof and his face was stretched into a content smile.

“What’s got you so happy?” Edward asked him.

“I just love looking at the sky at this time of night.” He replied. “Y’know, when the sun’s still setting but you can see the stars and the moon coming up. Look – there’s the big dipper and Orion! And it’s a waning moon tonight.” He leaned back on one hand, the other still tapping. “You can just imagine what it’s like to be up there, seeing the earth just a speck in the distance. I’d love to go to space.”

“I can tell.” Laughed Edward. “Is that your ghostly obsession? I heard the Fenton’s talking about them.”

“Nah. At least, I don’t think so. My obsession is protection. Protecting my friends, protecting Amity. I’ve always loved space. I wanted to be an astronaut before… you know.”

“What’s it like?” Edward asked. “being fully dead?”

Phantom didn’t answer for a while, his fingers continuing to tap tap tap away. When he did, his face was thoughtful, as if pondering a question of his own. “I lied to you.” He said finally.

“What?”

“I lied. About being a full ghost. I’m not.”

“You’re not a ghost?”

“No. I’m a halfa. Like you. I’m sorry for lying.”

Edward’s mind turned upside down from that moment on. Phantom had lied? He was just like him and he didn’t even tell him? Did that mean he had a human form like Edward? He had somehow known about the ‘sister’ thing, and he still sometimes called him ‘Mr Lancer’ – did that mean Phantom was one of his students? There he was complaining about Valerie putting her life at risk when Phantom was doing the same and had actually died! Well, not died, if he hadn’t lied about that too. It was too much to handle.

“You’re not saying anything.” Phantom’s worried voice said. “Please say something. Did I mess up? I’m sorry!”

God, he sounded so much like a scared teenager. That’s exactly what he was. “No, its fine.” He said. “Just processing. Why did you lie?”

He could see just how human Phantom looked when his eyes screwed up and he grimaced. His fingers tapped even faster now. “it just happened. I was trying to protect my identity, and I wasn’t sure exactly what had happened to you until later. It seemed natural to pretend that I was a full ghost and didn’t know about halfas firsthand. Maybe I thought you would trust me more if you didn’t see me as some human kid.”

Edward tried to make his voice gentle as he placed a hand on Phantom’s. “I’m not angry, Phantom. I understand. I wouldn’t want anyone to know either.” He paused, choosing his next words carefully. “Especially if it was your teacher. Is that right?”

A pause, then, “How did you know?”

“The picture. You knew about it.”

“Oh.” he said. “Oh. I –“

“I am the box ghost!” Sure enough, the box ghost hovered just over the edge, hands in the air. “I am here to interrupt your bonding time!” he shouted.

“Ughh.” Phantom groaned, rising to his feet. “Let me take care of this. Chuck me that thermos, will you?”

“Beware!”

“Shut up!” The two halfas yelled. Phantom sucked him up into the thermos quickly before landing on the roof again. 

Edward ignored him as he sat back down; he was deep in thought. Who was Phantom? Dash? No. That didn’t make any sense. Mikey? Definitely not. Danny? Didn’t have the motivation, even if he had the name. And the build. And the hair and the voice. Earlier on in the week, Sam Manson, Danny Fenton’s best friend, had called Phantom ‘Danny’. P _ride and prejudice_ , He really was Phantom, wasn’t he?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward really hates flying.

Edward thought about it long and hard. It wasn’t that he was scared of confronting Phantom, but that he wasn’t sure and if he got it wrong, he wasn’t sure how he would react. If he was right and Phantom really was Daniel, he didn’t know what he’d do. Would that mean he would stop being so damned secretive, or would it make him close in on himself even more? Edward sunk down into his armchair (he was doing that a lot recently) and groaned.

In the end, he didn’t confront Phantom or Danny. He just watched. He watched as Danny’s breath fogged in front of him and his hand flew up in the air. He let him go and Phantom hovered outside the window fighting Skulker only a few minutes afterwards. He watched as Danny favoured his right arm in class one day while Sam kept sending him concerned glances. He watched when the boy glared at Valerie as she went into another one of her rants about ghosts, this particular one focusing on Phantom.

It was really rather obvious, now he thought about it.

It was about a month after they started training when Phantom finally let Edward come with him on patrol. He had been asking very politely (begging and getting rather angry) for weeks, wanting to help Phantom keep the town safe and perhaps persuade him to talk to the ghosts instead of punching them. The only downside to all this was that he had to fly. Edward really hated flying.

He wobbled a little as the wind changed directions and shuddered at the electricity pylons down below them. Ahead of him, Phantom was swooping and looping even higher up in the sky, obviously having the time of his life.

“Come on, Edward!” he called. “It’s great up here!”

“I’m staying as low as I can.” Edward said. “I have at least some sense of self preservation.”

“You’re missing out.”

“I’m much more comfortable here thank you.”

“Suit yourself, old man.”

Edward did a double take and glared at the ghost. “What did you just call me?”

“Old man! You’re too scared to come up high!”

“I’ll show you old man.” He growled. Damn Phantom, always making fun of him. He soared up to where he was hovering, arms crossed and his signature smirk adorning his face.

“Well, now you’re here,” Phantom grinned, “let’s get started.”

Edward noticed that he was indeed up high now, and it really wasn’t so bad.

Phantom guided him through the air, doing a backflip every now and then just to show off. Edward followed him, albeit a lot slower, taking in the sights of Amity Park from up above. He had seen the town from up high – their warehouse perch gave a wonderful view – but it was completely different when he was flying. The cars passed by, so small and insignificant compared to them, and the people on the streets were just tiny ants like the ones in the pavement cracks. It was getting dark and streetlamps were coming on one by one, illuminating the high street and the smaller ones around it. Casper High School was beautifully floodlit, the football field almost glowing. Beautiful was not a word Edward ever thought he would apply to Casper High.

He was just starting to get the hang of staying on the wind current and using it to keep himself stable when Phantom’s ghost sense went off and Skulker appeared. Edward had to wonder at how they did that all the time. Did they stay invisible until they reached Phantom then appear again for dramatic effect, or did they just pop into existence from the ghost zone? Phantom really hadn’t been clear in his explanations. Skulker seemed to be one of the regulars and apparently, he was a fairly easy fight.

Edward had never actually seen him up close before and the ghost was, to put it lightly, terrifying. Gleaming silver suit, guns charged and ready to fire, mohawk flaming away. Edward gulped.

“Hello Whelp.” He said. “Older Whelp. You’re new.”

Despite being almost paralysed with fear, Edward smiled thinly. “I’m Edward. Nice to meet you?”

“It’s really not.” Skulker sneered. “Can we get on with this, Whelp? Ember’s expecting me and I said I’d get your pelt today.”

“Whatever.” Phantom drawled. “Come on then.”

Edward, seeing that they were about to launch into a barrage of unnecessary violence and puns that were just a crime against humanity, said, “Wait a second. Pelt?”

“Yes. I am the ghost zone’s greatest hunter. I want Phantom’s pelt for the foot of my bed. And possibly yours. You might be an interesting prize.”

“That doesn’t get any less disturbing no matter how many times I hear it.” Phantom muttered. “You should get therapy or something, dude.”

“Ghost Child, who is this other halfa? He looks familiar.”

“I’m Edward Lancer.” Edward said again, trying to gain some semblance of control over the situation.

“I don’t care. Whelp?”

“Yeah.” Phantom said. “That’s Edward Lancer. Teacher at the high school. I think he might have thrown a book at you once. Not sure.”

“I would never mistreat a book like that!” gasped Edward, shocked and appalled that Phantom would even suggest such a thing. “I have respect for books.”

“You sound like the ghost writer.” Skulker said. “You two would get along.”

Phantom’s eyebrows raised. “You’re right.” He agreed. “I should totally introduce you. Anyway, Skulker, ready?”

“Bring it on, ghost child.”

Phantom’s fists lit with raging green flames and Skulker’s guns swivelled round to point at him.

“Wait!” Edward cried. “Can’t you talk about this? Skulker, what do you want?”

Skulker didn’t look amused at the interruption. “I want his pelt. Can I fight him now or are we going to keep on yapping? Shut up, old man.”

Ignoring the burning insult, Edward turned to Phantom. “What about you. What do you want from Skulker?”

“For him to leave me alone and stop going on about my pelt! Edward, I appreciate the sudden group discussion, but I would really like to end this so I can sleep.”

“But there has to be a way to do that without fighting? Come on Phantom. You said not all ghosts are malevolent, didn’t you? Just put Skulker in the thermos without punching him.”

Skulker grinned, a horrible metallic toothy grin that sent shivers up Edward’s spine. “I like his idea. Don’t punch me. Stay still and let me punch you instead.”

“No!”

“Gentlemen, please.” Edward moved quickly in between them. “Skulker, do you really think you’re going to be able to get Phantom’s ‘pelt’” he shuddered, “After years of failing? Please just get in the thermos or go back through the portal by yourself. Don’t you want to see your…” he glanced at Phantom for confirmation, “girlfriend?”

“Ember can wait.” He growled.

“She won’t be happy.” Phantom warned. He seemed to have taken to Edward’s idea, and tried to calm the situation further. “Come on, dude. Just this once, go away and let me sleep. How about I come and visit you tomorrow. Then we can have a fight. No PDA’s involved. That means no gorillas.”

Skulker raised a single brow. “No gorillas?” he asked. “do I have your word?”

“No gorillas.” Phantom’s hand lay on his chest. “You have my word.”

“Gorillas?” Edward questioned as they flew away.

“It’s a long story.”

His first patrol had been a success, at least to some extent, even if it had been absolutely petrifying as well. He started to go out more often as a ghost, although always with Phantom. He still didn’t trust himself when flying.

Because they went out in the day on weekends and people began to notice him, Phantom insisted that he come up with an alter ego for himself. Edward thought that was ridiculous.

“I’m a middle-aged man, not a teenager like you. I’m no superhero.” He protested. “You can’t seriously expect me to fly around in spandex and a cape?”

That resulted in Phantom laughing at the mental image for a good five minutes straight.

“Oh my god, I’m scarred for life!” he wheezed. “You in spandex!”

“I’m glad you find me amusing.” Edward said, gritting his teeth.

In the end, they came up with a number of suggestions, the most memorable being ‘Ecto Ed’ – one of Phantom’s that Edward immediately vetoed vehemently. They decided on just calling him Edward as a ghost, because he was firmly against any superhero type name, and it was such a common name that it was unlikely to be connected to the English teacher at Casper High School.

“Just because you don’t like puns.” Phantom grumbled.

“I don’t.” Edward said. “And your name is terrible anyway. ‘Phantom’? seriously? Because you’re a ghost?”

“Phantom is a brilliant name.” he countered. “You just don’t appreciate true art.”

Edward turned away, refusing to dignify that with a response.

* * *

“You know,” said Phantom one night after training when they were sitting on their roof, “I should really take you down to the Fenton portal at some point.” His fingers were tapping again. He did that a lot, Edward noticed.

“The portal? Why?”

“Well, I’m hoping to take you into the ghost zone at some point, but I figured we should start with the portal. We can also take a look at the Fenton’s lab and weapons vault just in case you ever need to go there without me. Seriously, some of the stuff in that lab is fucking terrifying.”

“Language!”

“Whatever.”

“Don’t whatever me, young man. Anyway, that sounds like a good, if somewhat illegal idea.” Wouldn’t it technically be breaking and entering? Edward may be half ghost now, but he didn’t want to go into a life of crime. He also didn’t want to end up on the wrong end of one of the Fenton’s guns.

“I’ve done it millions of times before and I’ve never got caught.” Phantom insisted. “I’m pretty sure they know I’m there, and Jazz Fenton lets me in sometimes. Therefore, not illegal.”

Of course, if he was Danny, he would simply be letting himself into his own house.

* * *

Edward tried to remember that when the two of them were sneaking invisibly into Fenton works the day after.

“Can’t we just get Jasmine to let us in?” he hissed.

“She’s at the library today.” Phantom whispered back.

“How do you even know that?” Danny would know that because she was his sister.

“I have my ways. Now come on!”

They snuck in through the walls, then Phantom took his hand and they floated down into the lab in the basement. Phantom wasn’t lying when he said there was some scary stuff in there. Edward wondered if it was really safe for Danny and Jasmine to be living in a house with all of these lethal weapons. When he said this to Phantom, perhaps hoping for a reaction that would point towards him being Danny, he just laughed.

“These weapons can’t hurt humans. Well, most of them anyway. There was an occasion where Dash Baxter and I got shrunk by my d – Jack Fenton.”

Ignoring the horrible implications of that, Edward focused on what Phantom had nearly said. My dad.

His theory was getting more and more likely.

With that in mind, Edward wandered over to the portal. Swirling, green, altogether otherworldly. It reminded him of some of the sci fi books he’d read, and for a moment he thought that maybe he was imagining the whole thing. To think that there was a whole other world on the other side of that thing. A world with life (in a way) and society and culture. Edward wanted nothing more than to see this phenomenon for himself.

“Pretty impressive right?” Phantom said from next to him, arms crossed and smiling.

“It’s wonderful.” He breathed, unable to say anything else.

“This is where most of the ghosts come out.”

“Most?”

“There are a couple of natural portals, and I know a ghost who can make them himself. There’s also the box ghost. I think he might be able to do that as well, because that guy just keeps on coming back no matter how many times I shove him back in the zone.”

Edward had learned how persistent the box ghost was firsthand. He nodded in agreement.

“Now, over here is the weapons vault. I’m pretty sure I’ve shown you most of these, but there are always new ones being made, and…” Phantom froze, his head whipping round. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” asked Edward who had always had bad hearing.

“The Fentons. They’re coming. Shit.”

“Phantom!”

Phantom’s face screwed up in annoyance. “No time for you to be a teacher! Go invisible, quick. Ugh, I didn’t want you to know yet.”

“Know what?” Although he feigned ignorance, Edward had a good idea of what.

“Look, sorry for not telling you, but it’s easier for me to go human now. Please don’t hate me.”

“Why would I –“

Phantom cut him off as he changed.

It was one thing suspecting, but it was another to actually see it as the rings that Edward was so familiar with on himself appear around Phantom’s waist. They passed over his body and turned white hair black, jumpsuit to a t shirt and jeans, boots to trainers. There was no doubt about it – Phantom really was Danny Fenton.

He looked down for a second, then glanced up at Edward as if to gauge his reaction. Edward just smiled at him, trying to reassure the teenager.

“I already suspected.” He admitted. “I’m not completely oblivious.” Danny nodded in relief, letting out an audible sigh. Then he straightened up and picked up one of the ectoblasters on the side.

“Should have known you would figure it out. Anyway, get out of here, quick! I’ll meet you back at the warehouse in a while.”

Edward nodded and flickered into invisibility, then shot out through the walls where the scanners hopefully wouldn’t pick him up. He would have changed as well, but he highly doubted he would be able to control his invisibility as a human and he didn’t have an excuse as to why he was in their house.

He flew back slowly, still not confident in the air and also trying to work his mind around what he had seen. He hoped that Phantom – Danny – would be okay with his parents. Judging by what he heard at school, Danny wasn’t the best at coming up with excuses.

Gosh, now it all made sense. All those ‘bathroom breaks’ and rushing out of class. He really didn’t know how he didn’t figure it out sooner; it was a miracle no one else had.

Now that he knew for certain, Edward wasn’t sure if he was entirely comfortable with Danny - a fourteen year old child – defending the town from the ghosts. He certainly wasn’t for Valerie, although he supposed she didn’t have the advantage of intangibility and the other safety mechanisms that ghost powers gave. Still, he couldn’t let Danny go out into daily fights like that. He was missing a lot of school, and his grades were at a low, even for him. Valerie was still running out into fights despite his refusal to let her go, and she was still brutal towards Phantom. Brutal towards Danny – one of her best friends.

Lancer felt slightly sick and nearly lurched downwards mid-air. He caught himself just in time.

It wasn’t right that these two teenagers had to shoulder the responsibility of protecting the whole town, and it wasn’t right that they both saw fights and violence as something totally normal. Now that he knew what he knew, Edward could understand why Danny had had such an extreme reaction to being compared to the Fentons. His parents. Who actively hunted him.

Edward really had to talk to Danny and make sure he was doing alright. Who knows what kind of impact this all could have had on his brain and development? Maybe a chat with Jazz Fenton would be a good idea too.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam, Tucker and Jazz are scary when they're not at school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, here's an extra long chapter to make up for a week of no wifi and too many mountains. Enjoy!

They didn’t get to talk much at the warehouse due to Danny being late for his curfew and Edward wanting both of them to get a decent amount of sleep before school tomorrow.

When Edward saw Danny the next day, it was in his homeroom class and he was late again. Now Edward knew exactly why. He caught the boy whispering something about Technus to Tucker and Sam who gave him sympathetic winces. Edward had never had the pleasure of meeting that particular ghost himself, but he couldn’t imagine it had been fun.

“See me at the end of the day, Daniel.” He said, smiling through his stern exterior, hoping Danny saw that it was just for show.

His classes came and went. He suffered through kids misunderstanding the simplest poetry, he ate his lunch in the staffroom with Tetslaff, he handed out a couple of detentions. It was a completely normal day, but everything had changed. The first ghost attack was during second period, and while Danny wasn’t in his class at the time, he saw him out of the window fighting and presumably winning against Ember. Edward wished he would be a little more careful. He knew Phantom got some injuries from his fights, but knowing it was Danny Fenton slamming into those walls made it all the more terrifying. He also noted that Danny apparently forgot intangibility existed half of the time. Maybe he could use a little training too.

In his sophomore English class, which contained both Danny and Valerie Gray, he saw Danny’s ghost sense go off again and let him go with a sigh. When Valerie’s hand flew up, he gave in to her as well, figuring that despite his reservations, she could take care of herself. He would have to have another talk with her about unnecessary violence.

Edward could hardly wait for lessons to end and even he could see how dreary his speeches on poetry were by fifth period. The moment the bell rang, he sat down at his desk and waited for Danny, tapping his foot on the floor in anticipation.

The boy entered quietly, almost too quietly for Edward to hear. Like a ghost.

“Hi.” He said. His body was tense and his teeth were gritted.

“Danny,” Edward started, unsure of what to say.

“I’m sorry.” He interrupted. “I’m sorry for lying.”

“You say sorry too much.” The teacher noted. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“But this is all my fault!” Danny cried. “It’s my fault you’re a halfa and I should just have told you from the start but I was so happy that there was finally someone else like me and I didn’t want to ruin it by letting you know that it was just… me.”

“Just you?”

“Well, you know. I’m me. I’m not really heroic or strong or witty or anything that Phantom is.”

“Danny, you _are_ Phantom.” Edward told him. “You are all of those things. You’re also human. You act as if Phantom is a separate being, but it is all you. And you protect this town and we are all grateful to you. I’m not mad at all, and you don’t need to be sorry.”

“Thanks Mr Lancer.” He said, voice small.

“It’s Edward, Danny. You’ve been calling me Edward for two months.”

“And it still feels weird.” The corners of his mouth pulled upwards into a small smile and he looked up at Edward. “Thanks. For this. For not getting mad.”

“Like I said, I already had my suspicions. You know, you’re not really doing a good job of hiding it. It’s no wonder Wes Weston figured it out.”

Danny was grinning now, eyes crinkling with laughter. “Don’t get me started with him. I mean, he’s right, but he comes up with the most bizarre stuff. Like, apparently, I’m an ancient roman ghost come to rid the world of everything pure and good posing as me. Don’t know where he gets these ideas from. That’s only the most recent. Last year, I was a normal boy who had wandered into his parent’s freaky lab and died in a tragic accident. Then, I ‘came back to life’ as a ghost fighting superhero.”

“Isn’t that exactly what happened?” Edward asked, assuming that Danny’s accident had happened in his parents’ portal but not wanting to ask.

“Well yeah, but that doesn’t make it any less crazy. Good thing most of the school thinks it’s bullshit.”

“I’ll say it again, language, Danny.”

“Sorry.”

“I saw that eyeroll.”

“Sorry.”

There was another eyeroll, but Edward chose to pointedly ignore it. He didn’t want to spend _all_ of his time correcting Danny’s swearing, even if that boy did it way too much. Now it was time to bring out the big guns. “Danny.” He said, catching the boy’s attention and stopping his teenage antics in their tracks.

“What?”

“I think you should tell your parents.”

There it was. Edward could see Danny’s face slowly slackening and his eyebrows furrowing then raising incredulously.

“What?” he repeated the word, but there was venom in there now. It reminded Edward of the last time he had brought up the Fentons around Danny. He gulped.

“I think you should tell them.” He said again. He ignored the way Danny’s eyes burned deadly green. “Your life is suffering because of this. Your grades are…”

“Terrible. They’re terrible.” Danny finished for him, raising another eyebrow. “Where are you going with this?”

“I wouldn’t say _terrible_ ,”

“I would.”

Edward scowled. “They’re not the best grades I’ve ever seen, and they’re not the best grades you could get. But I don’t just care about your grades.”

“Could have fooled me.” Danny muttered.

“Daniel!”

“Sorry.”

“Danny, when was the last time you ‘hung out’ with someone?”

He looked confused for a second, before scowling again. “Thursday.” He ground out. “Sam, Tucker and I went to the nasty burger.”

“And what did you do?”

“We… ate burgers. That’s kind of what you do there.”

“Was there a ghost?”

“Well, yeah… there’s always a ghost. Boxy turned up.”

Edward smiled at him. “There’s my point. Your whole life revolves around ghosts. It would be good for you to take a break from that. When was the last time you spoke to your parents? When you sat down and had a proper conversation with them?”

Danny’s silence gave him all the answers he needed.

“Danny, it’s not healthy. I know protection is your obsession, but you can’t spend all your time and energy on it. You are still a human, just like I am. Humans need support. Humans need time off.”

“My parents don’t seem to think I’m a human.” Danny pointed out; his fists clenched. “the last time I talked to my parents, they told me that I was ‘a filthy ball of ectoplasmic scum not worth the time of day’ and that they wanted to ‘tear me apart molecule by molecule’. I think I’m fine as I am.”

“They love you Danny. You just need to give them the opportunity to know you.” He paused, giving Danny time to take it in. “You know, when I was your age, I had a boyfriend.” Danny brows rose again.

“You’re gay?”

“I’m bisexual. I didn’t tell my parents that for a long time. I was having a relationship with this boy and they had no idea. I thought they would hate me – you know my generation wasn’t nearly as accepting as yours. In the end, someone else outed me in front of them. I remember going back home that day, and I was sure they would think I was a freak. Instead, we sat down and had a talk. They were completely fine with it and they wished me and my boyfriend luck. I broke up with him a month later, but I knew they would support me through whatever.”

“That’s great.” Danny said, “But my parents aren’t like that. I’m not gay, I’m a ghost. Their whole life is hating ghosts. They hate ghosts more than they love me and Jazz.”

“You would be surprised at what parents would do for their children.” Edward said quietly. “I’ve been a teacher for years and I’ve never seen a parent who truly hates their child. I’d at least like you to think about telling them. it would take a lot of pressure off you, and they could help you figure out a schedule for keeping on top of everything. Even if you don’t, I’m more than willing to do what I can to help. I can go easy on the homework, and you can have extensions if you need them. I’ll go with whatever excuse you give me – even if it is ‘Cujo ate my homework’.”

“Cujo has eaten my homework.” Danny grumbled. “Multiple times.”

“Alright. Anyway, I want you to tell me what I can do to help, and I will do my best to make this easier for you. All I want in return is for you to at least think about telling your parents. Deal?”

Danny’s eyes lowered and he frowned. “Deal.” He looked Edward in the eyes. “Thanks, Mr Lancer. What?” he asked at Edward’s raised eyebrow. “It feels weird calling you Edward at school.”

“Fair enough.” Edward chuckled. “Now, I think you have an essay on Lady Macbeth to get started on.”

“Do I have to?” he moaned. “I don’t get her at all! She’s crazy!”

“That’s why she’s so interesting to analyse. She’s not just a one dimensional character.”

“Sure.”

“I would think,” said Edward, “That with your life, you would have quite a lot to say about her. You could compare her to some of the ghosts you meet on a daily basis and look at her downwards spiral into insanity in comparison to one you’ve seen in real life.”

“You mean Vlad?”

Edward laughed. “From what you’ve told me, he seems like a very lady Macbeth like character. Have a go. I think you’ll do well on this essay.”

Danny huffed in response, gathering his bag and nodding at Edward as he went out of the door. Edward heard him muttering to his friends who were presumably waiting outside and hoped it was about Macbeth.

He was on his way home when he got a text from Danny. He wondered for a second how he had got his number before remembering that he had given it to all his students way back when the ghost attacks started, in case they needed help or just someone to talk to. Very few people used it, but he felt better knowing they had some sort of support.

The text asked him to meet him at 14 Maple Avenue at 5:15. That was, if he remembered correctly from the school records, Sam Manson’s address.

* * *

A few hours later, he was pulling up outside a house in possibly the richest area of town. He could see people sticking their heads out of their windows, wondering who the bald guy with the cheap mini was. He did feel very out of place here. He was sure Mayor Masters lived on this road, and everyone knew he was a multi billionaire. Why he chose to live in Amity Park instead of some fancy city abroad, Edward couldn’t tell. Perhaps it was the ghosts. As Plasmius, it would be in his best interests to live in the most haunted town in America. Edward supposed that being the mayor didn’t hurt either.

The point was, only the extremely rich lived around here and, while he knew the Mansons were wealthy, he didn’t know quite how much. Danny had neglected to mention that Sam lived in a mansion.

He felt small and stupid climbing the steps to knock on the huge oak door. He heard pattering that turned into thundering footsteps.

“I’ll get it, mom!” someone – Sam, he assumed – shouted. The thundering must have been her heavy boots. She opened the door puffing and out of breath. “Sorry.” She wheezed. “Had to run up the stairs from the basement to beat mom to the door. Come in and be quiet.”

“Who was it, Sammykins?” someone asked from another room.

“Just some guy handing out leaflets!” she shouted. “I told him to go away.”

“Oh.” Edward heard more footsteps tapping down the hallway and at Sam’s panicked glare, went invisible quickly. He ignored Sam’s shock. He had done it all too soon as Pamela Manson came daintily round the corner.

She was, Edward thought, the complete opposite of her daughter in every way possible. Where Sam’s clothes were dark and gothic, her mother’s were bright and flowery. Pamela’s hair was blonde to Sam’s dyed black and her voice tinkled. Edward had never heard a voice tinkle before. He had also never met this woman as it was usually Jeremy Manson who came to the parent teacher conferences. He could see why the two married and why Sam felt the need to rebel. The environment created by Pamela Manson alone would be stifling enough to make any child go mad. Combined with Jeremy, Sam must be insane by now. He felt a moment of sympathy for his student.

He realised with a start that Sam and Pamela were still speaking and it was becoming quite heated.

“Mom, no.” Sam growled. “I won’t try on the dress. I already know I’ll hate it! Do I look like someone who wears pink frilly dresses?”

Looking at her attire – jeans, a punk band t shirt and a choker – Edward thought that no, she really didn’t. He couldn’t say that he knew many women, but none of the ones he did would want to wear the hideous thing that Sam’s mother was holding up. Sam was physically flinching away from it as if it would hurt her. A little excessive if you asked him. A good five minutes later, Sam finally got her mother to go away and Edward regained visibility with a sigh of relief. He couldn’t hold it for long unless he was in ghost form.

“It’s weird seeing you do that.” she said, eyeing him. “I’m used to it from Danny, but you’re you. Anyway, come on downstairs. Everyone’s waiting and my parents are going out in a second.”

‘Everyone’ turned out to be Tucker Foley and Jazz and Danny Fenton. Edward blinked for a second, taking in their expectant faces and Tucker’s stunned stare. He guessed it must have been because of the jeans. He had changed after school.

“He’s here.” Said Sam, rather unnecessarily. “Tucker close your mouth. Danny?”

Danny, who had been talking in whispers with Jazz, glanced up. “Yep. Training room’s this way.”

Edward followed them through the basement cautiously. Jazz kept looking back at him and smiling, as if trying to reassure him and herself at the time. He smiled back in response. He hadn’t seen Jazz for a while since she had graduated and she was now apparently attending some prestigious university. Edward had heard something about acceptance into Oxford in England.

They reached the training room soon afterwards, and it was massive. Edward took in the climbing wall at the back and the mechanical training dummies littering the room with awe. There were hoops and obstacles dumped on the floor and hanging from the ceiling which he assumed were for flying practice. Great.

“So,” Danny’s voice broke him out of his silent musings. “Uh… can you transform and we can get started?” Edward noticed that Danny had transformed into Phantom and was hovering in the air with his arms crossed. His hands were tapping again.

“Yeah, yes.” He stuttered. “Sure.”

He pulled on his core the way Danny had taught him and felt the rings change his purple shirt to green and his black jeans to white. He still wasn’t used to the feeling the weight of hair on his head, but he could work with that.

Tucker’s mouth fell open again and the two girls joined him.

“Come on.” Edward said, allowing himself a smirk. “It’s not like you’ve never seen a halfa before.” He gestured at Danny who was grinning madly as he cackled midair.

“You’re our teacher.” Jazz, who had managed to get a hold of herself more quickly than the others, reasoned. “It’s weird even for me. I’m still not completely used to Danny.”

“Hey!” her brother piped up. “You’ve known for ages!”

“I know.” She smiled. “but you’re my brother. It’s always gonna be weird.”

If Edward didn’t know any better, he would say that Danny was sulking. he had never seen Phantom doing that before. Edward couldn’t help but giggle. He was subject to a frankly terrifying glare from Danny.

“Anyway!” Sam shouted, getting everyone’s attention. “We only have a few hours before mom and dad come back from whatever charity event they’re going to today, so let’s get on with this. I think we should test Mr Lancer’s basic skills – speed and ectoblasts and stuff.”

“Sounds good.” Danny said. “Have you still got my data in there to compare it to?”

Sam grimaced. “No. Technus destroyed it last time he got into the systems.”

There was pure mischief in Danny’s voice when he said, “Does that mean I get to do it again? Please, Sam?”

She sighed. “I guess so. Let Mr Lancer do it first.”

Danny consented with a sad nod and he floated over to the corner where there was… a camera? Were they going to be filming this?

He posed his question to Jazz who nodded and explained that they kept records of each training session so they could rewatch them and see what needed improving. It was something Edward would expect from her, but not from the other three children, so he was confused when she said it was Tucker’s idea from the start. Apparently there was a lot he didn’t know about his students.

“Get to the start!” Danny called from across the room. Edward made his way over to him and gulped when he saw the obstacle course set out for him.

“Danny, I’m not sure about this.” He whispered. “I’ve never done well with fitness tests.”

“You’ll be fine.” Danny told him, laughing. “Didn’t you used to be a cheerleader or something?”

That was true, Edward supposed, but that was also thirty years ago. Before he could think about it more, Tucker started a stop clock and yelled go.

Shocked into moving, Edward ran towards the dummies waiting for him and ducked as one of them punched out at him. That was… unexpected. He realised that he was probably supposed to fight these things. Much as he loathed fighting, he liked being alive even more. He was doing this then.

After a few disastrous attempts to knock over the damned things, he fell into a rhythm of duck, punch occasionally hoping he hit something, and run away. He liked that last part most. He was good at running away. With this strategy, he managed to get past the training dummies in what felt like hours but was probably only a couple of minutes. The next part made him blanch and consider turning back to the dummies.

Flying.

He hadn’t liked the look of them earlier, and now that he was face to face, the hoops were even more terrifying. He let go of the gravity keeping him on the ground warily and hovered just in front of them. well, now or never. He flew through the first hoop safely, passed through the second fine. Then the ectoblasts came.

What kind of crazy death trap was this?

“They’re just light!” Danny yelled from down on the ground. He was grinning in the most annoying way. “They won’t hurt you!”

That didn’t make it any less scary.

Edward wove in and out, trying his best to stay out of the beams, but managing to get caught by a few. He really really hated flying.

He landed on the ground completely out of breath and his heart was pounding. He did not want to repeat that if he could help it.

The last obstacle loomed above him like David and goliath. Except goliath wasn’t a huge forty foot tall climbing wall. It wasn’t even one of those nice walls with the colourful fake rocks. It was an actual cliff with outcrops that could easily kill a man if he were to fall off.

Edward didn’t like to swear if he could help it, but _shit._

He set one foot on the lowest shelf, ignoring the way it trembled. His hand reached up cautiously to find a handhold and the other leg came up. Okay. He could do this. Right hand, left leg, left hand, right leg. Repeat.

This was fine. This was totally and utterly fine.

This was not fine. He reached up and there was nothing for him to rest his hand on. He quickly placed it back where it was, but his leg wobbled and he lost his grip.

He was vaguely aware of someone screaming and thought that he must be falling. It was quite a way up.

He could fly, goddammit. He concentrated as hard as he could, trying to get his thoughts together enough to stay in the air. He managed just three feet from the ground and let out a sigh of relief.

He landed with a thump and sat back, dazed.

“Well,” Tucker said somewhere above him. “You only got ten minutes over Danny’s worst time.”

“What he means,” Jazz cut in, “Is that there’s room for improvement. You did well, Mr Lancer.”

“Thank you, Jazz.” He groaned, still trying to get his bearings.

“My turn?” asked Danny.

The next five minutes were spent watching Danny absolutely destroy the same course that had caused Edward so much trouble. He shot down the dummies with no trouble at all, breezed through the laser beams and hoops and practically skipped up the climbing wall. Even after all that, Danny was still well enough to do a speed test where he discovered his top speed was 156 mph.

Edward wasn’t even sure he could do 50. 

They eventually decided to let him out of that hellish room, and they all crowded into Sam’s basement cinema to watch a film. Everyone else seemed to think that was a perfectly normal thing to have in one’s basement, so Edward just went along with it.

About halfway through their second cheesy horror film, Danny’s ghost sense went off. He jumped up, then looked expectantly at Edward who wanted nothing more than to stay on the very comfy beanbag Sam had provided.

“Coming.” He grumbled, wincing at his aching spine. “As soon as my back lets me.”

Danny grinned and floated up through the ceiling. Edward followed him reluctantly. 


End file.
